TL;DR:

You can schedule a time with me to have a free, private, disposable voice/video chat (whichever you prefer). Just click the "want to chat?" button on my contact page to find a time. I added this in response to myself not reaching out to people because I constantly type and delete messages to the point of indecision and give up trying to contact someone via their website or social media.

I don't want to add the noise of people complaining about how impersonal communication online is. I want to try a solution. Part of the problem is that time-delayed communication (ie; transmitting text via a network) removes a lot of the human element. Emojis, stickers, effects and gifs can only go so far to replace the inflection in a voice. Knowing that when your best friend says "kinda" a certain way, means they should be prodded for a deeper explanation is one example of what's lost via text-only communication. Being able to edit your message before sending it also removes some of the honesty of communication. Which, yes, that's why the phone app on the average "phone" today is probably the least used app; that layer of honesty can be scary, I admit. Facial expressions add a whole other layer of meaning. Mass communication, sending or leaving a message for an unspecified audience (like this blog?) is effective and needed in certain situations, but what happens if that's the primary form of communication? I guess we're finding out.

The Experiment

All that to say: I've made a way to contact me more directly. You'll see a button on my contact page that pulls up a schedule of when I should be available in the next week or two. You can pick a time that works best for you and when that time comes, I'll email you a link to a one-time, disposable, private voice or video chat, whichever you prefer. I just think that's the best use of available technologies to connect as honestly and efficiently as possible. Of course you can still contact me by whatever other means I have available on my site, but if you just want to chat real quick as close to face-to-face as possible, this is a way to do that. All I need to make this happen is your email address, which I will not abuse in any way; I value my privacy and anonymity as much as you. Even if I had a newsletter, I would not add your email to it through this form.

So why am I making this available? I'm trying to be a solution to the noise. Instead of constantly complaining about lack of honesty online, or spending a lot of time typing up messages I'm not sure will ever be read, I want to connect as genuinely as possible. I think this is the most efficient means to connect with anyone, short of meeting in person.

I realize this blog is adding to that noise, but you have to get the message out somehow right? And I wanted to leave an explanation of what that button was on my about page anyways.

Disclaimer: I hold the right to reschedule or cancel an "appointment" with anyone for any reason. I most likely won't, but thought that might be necessary. This is an experiment, I'm not sure how well this could work, but I'm excited to try. And I'm not spending a ton of time keeping my availability up to date, just tangentially, so it might take a few tries to nail down a time that works for both parties. Hope to talk to you soon!